Confessions of a sleep vampire

Among my editors in London, I'm sometimes known as the Prince of Darkness - not for any particular satanic tendencies, but because I frequently send emails when most people in my time zone in California are fast asleep.

For the uninitiated, "sleep hygiene" has nothing to do with the cleanliness of your bedroom, but instead refers to behaviours that influence the quality of your sleep. The problem is that previous research has yielded conflicting results as to which behaviours, exactly, are the most disruptive.

Surprisingly, there was little difference between the good and bad
sleepers for many of the factors highlighted on websites offering
advice on insomnia - including drinking alcohol or caffeine near to
bedtime, or watching television in bed. (I do all of those.)

The bad sleepers were more likely to report sleeping in a noisy
environment and napping during the day. (Again, I'm guilty on both
counts.) But the biggest differences between the two groups were for
"worried, planned, or thought about important matters" in bed or near
bedtime, "slept in a room with an uncomfortable nighttime temperature",
and "engaged in exciting or emotionally upsetting activities near
bedtime".

Hmmm...I can think of one exciting bedtime activity that has the
opposite effect - helping me sleep. Unfortunately, that's not
always an available option - and in any case, I've been told that
improving one's own sleep patterns by disrupting someone else's amounts
to "sleep vampirism".

Left to my own devices, I do tend to sleep with the radio on, which
seems to help me drop off but isn't so good when I wake at 3 am and get
drawn into a discussion of current affairs on KQED, my local National Public Radio affiliate. And
while it's apparently OK to finish the day by watching a DVD, maybe I
should switch from episodes of The Wire
to something a little more...dull.

Keeping cool on warm nights seems sensible enough, but opening my
bedroom window means that I'm disturbed by the streetcars rumbling by.
I could move, of course, but it's tough to give up a rent-controlled
apartment.

The main message from Gellis and Lichstein's survey, however, seems
to be that I need to stop thinking and planning at bedtime. I fear that
may entail getting a job that engages my brain rather less than being a
New Scientist reporter.

24 Comments

I actually have a suggestion. Pick up an audiobook -- one of the dozens of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series would do quite nicely. Now, queue up something like an hour or two worth of tracks and hit the hay.

Listening to an audiobook as you go to sleep works for you in several ways. Since you only have an hour or so in the queue, you won't wake up to something unexpected on the still-on radio at 3am. Since you don't have to use your eyes (as you would for a DVD or TV), you can lie down and relax (with your eyes closed). Most importantly to me (and perhaps to you), by having a light but engaging story (such as the aforementioned Discworld fare), your mind can engage with the story instead of your day. (Trying not to think of a pink elephant never works, after all. Replacing that elephant with Rincewind, however, works every time.)

I used to sit up for hours and hours pondering over the events of the day and the "what ifs" that followed. Since I started the Discworld treatment, I *rarely* remember even 20 minutes of story when I return the following evening to resume where my memory leaves off.

Beowulf
on February 4, 2009 12:02 AM

Maybe you have DSPS, which I have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome

I second the audiobook suggestion, it works very well. At night I find that fiction audiobooks seem to work better as non-fiction (which I prefer in general) are a bit more.. stimulating maybe.

julie
on February 4, 2009 1:10 AM

I have found 2 products that have helped me, and I too am a night time thinker/planner. First a product called Deep Sleep, which says it helps to reduce excessive mind chatter.
And secondly, I bought a Sound Therapy System, which even my teenagers say helps them to fall asleep using new technology that mimicks the brain waves that allow sleep...it really does work, and I use i even to relax and destress as it has 3 different types of sound: relax, sleep, and sleep.

Charles
on February 4, 2009 2:12 AM

How about getting loud fan? I have an air purifier fan that drowns out most sounds, and even for the ones that get through, it makes them seem less abrupt.

Gee
on February 4, 2009 4:04 AM

Try meditating. I've been doing it for the last 20 years. Sometimes works, sometimes not.

Probably the best stint was when I moved away for a job for 2 years and I hit the gym 2-4 hours a day for 4-5 days a week. With that amount of activity you can be pretty much assured of sleeping soundly throughout the night and not be passing out throughout the day.

Since its now 4:03am I guess I should really be following my own advice again!

By M.C
on February 4, 2009 7:11 AM

When i saw the photo of dracula something occur me.If dracula exited, its taste for blood could not have been possible today.You know why?H.I.V. After sucking a hiv carrier,you will see dracula in 6 years leeeaaann.Even you will pity him.

john
on February 4, 2009 11:25 AM

when kept awake thinking/planning, I find the old trick of writing a note useful as it helps dismiss the matter from mind. no longer needing to remember the matter or conclusion often helps me drop off.

Donald
on February 4, 2009 11:37 PM

I read some years ago that watching tv in black & white was less potentially disruptive to sleep than watching colour tv, is there any research to support this or is it just an old wives tale ?

Sleepy
on February 5, 2009 12:07 AM

To ease into sleep, it's important to interrupt your normal train of thought--get off the merry-go-round of "what do I have to do tomorrow?," "I can't believe that guy cut me off in traffic today," "where will I get the money for (fill in the blank)?" Most of the suggestions so far do this by substituting non-you-oriented noise (book, fan, etc.). I do the same thing (successfully, for the most part) in silence:

(1) Mentally repeat a prayer or other block of text, slowly and with breathing space between phrases. For example, the Lord's Prayer, a mantra such as Om Mani Padme Hum, the Gettysburg Address. Pay attention to the meaning behind the words and to the "silent silence" of the spaces between lines. Done slowly and steadily, this has the added advantage of slowing your breathing, thus increasing relaxation. If your mind wanders (it will), gently bring yourself back to the exercise.

(2) Play a meaningless word or number game. The one I use is to run through all the rhymes for a certain word ending, going through all the vowels in turn. For example, -and, -end, -ind, -ond, -und. I count each set with my fingers as I go. I seldom make it past the second set before nodding off.

(3) Regarding that possibly unavailable "exciting activity before bedtime," help yourself. Physical relaxation is just as diverting (maybe more so) as the mental tricks.

Finally, I agree with the importance of the right sleeping temperature and conditions in the bedroom. Just a couple degrees too much warmth makes all the (negative) difference. Consider both the warmth and weight of nightwear and covers, and adjust for the time of year and your body's needs.

I also have difficulties to fall asleep. I spent like a year in insomnia (sleeping less than 4 hours a day every day). The solution for me the first time was the help of a friend which I guess is impractical for most people (didn't involve sex, lol). And the second time, I started taking off-prescription sleeping pills and decreasing the quantity. This combined with meditation. The best solution for insomnia really is meditation-it calms the mind and even if you don't fall a sleep, if you get into the right state, you wouldn't feel bad on the next day.
And yeah another way to calm my over-excited mind is to think of sex. First I start with imagining exciting stuff, to engage the mind. And then I imagine hard-core stuff but without the good feeling. That gets me bored and then I stop thinking of anything and fall asleep.

Bambi
on February 5, 2009 4:08 PM

I totally agree with the audiobook solution - I've listened to loads of Discworlds, plus all the Harry Potters and a few other audiobooks in my time and they're absolutely brilliant (only problem is that my husband and I almost always fall asleep at different times and so we disagree about where we re-start it the following night! LOL).

A variation on this is the good old proper book - I find reading a book that I love and know well, like The Lord of the Rings or something like that (whilst lying down in bed) for about 20-30mins, is very relaxing. I have a light that clips to the back of a book for this so I don't have to get up to turn the light off when I've finished reading.

Another mental exercise that I sometimes use is the alphabet game - you pick a category, like flowers or Discworld characters or whatever, and try to think of one for each letter of the alphabet - I'm usually asleep quite quickly using this method.

By novaya
on February 6, 2009 10:53 AM

I know that satisfying sex is a cure for insomnia . Problem is , no man is capable to give me this .

SJ
on February 10, 2009 10:30 AM

I've always found a really good way to fall asleep is to start thinking bizarre thoughts and slowly make them more and more weird. I hypothesize that by doing so you mimic the state of being half-awake half-asleep where you have those random micro-dreams and reality begins to blur, thus if you begin to consciously think like this you kind of trick your brain into the transition phase leading to sleep. It requires a bit of mental effort initially but random thoughts come more naturally over time and as you approach sleep.

I help two methods that my (very intelligent and skeptical) clients say helps a lot. 1) Keep a small notebook and lighted pen next to your bed. When thoughts are whirling, turn on the pen (won't wake any next to you, who is sleeping soundly from the sex :-) and start what I call a "brain dump." Capturing everything on your mind helps a lot, I've found.

2) Adopt a personal system to help stay on top of your work and life. Part of what I teach includes a regular brain dump practice. Combined with the trust that adopting such a system provides, sleep improves even more.

Related: A Few Thoughts On Capture http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2006/10/few-thoughts-on-capture.html

By Squamous
on February 18, 2009 12:53 AM

Here's a trick I read in a Medical Textbook from the 1940's.

Start counting backwards from 500.
You must deduct 3 each time eg 497,494,491 etc etc
If you make a mistake you must start again at 500.
It's quite possible to unknowingly make a mistake and not realize until say you hit 441 when it should be 440 after 20 repetitions.
If you reach Zero and your still awake you need medical attention!
The author I remember commented that he never met an insomniac for whom it didn't work.

By PeterWarner1
on July 15, 2009 8:22 AM

I hypothesize that by doing so you mimic the state of being half-awake half-asleep where you have those random micro-dreams and reality begins to blur, thus if you begin to consciously think like this you kind of trick your brain into the transition phase leading to sleep.
Administration degree | Information Technology Diploma

By PeterWarner1
on July 15, 2009 8:23 AM

The best solution for insomnia really is meditation-it calms the mind and even if you don't fall a sleep, if you get into the right state, you wouldn't feel bad on the next day.
PhD computer science | PhD english | PhD sociology